Terminal device with function of fingerprint identification

ABSTRACT

A terminal device for fingerprint identification may include a control component and a screen. The screen may include a screen cover, a display component, a fingerprint detection element, and a plurality of touch signal detection elements. The fingerprint detection element and the plurality of touch signal detection elements may be between the screen cover and a top surface of the display component; the fingerprint detection element may be in a free area among different touch signal detection elements; and the control component may be electrically connected with the fingerprint detection element and configured to acquire detection signal of the fingerprint detection element, generate fingerprint data based on the detection signal of the fingerprint detection element, compare the fingerprint data with reference fingerprint data stored in advance, and execute a preset control instruction if the fingerprint data matches the reference fingerprint data.

PRIORITY STATEMENT

This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application201510695539.8, filed on Oct. 22, 2015, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to fields of computer technology, andmore particularly, to terminal device with fingerprint identificationfunction.

BACKGROUND

With development of technology on mobile terminals, mobile terminals maybe more and more widely used and have become one of most important toolsfor daily work and life. In order to ensure a high level of security, amobile terminal may implement a fingerprint identification function tounlock the mobile terminal and/or make a payment through the mobileterminal so as to secure user privacy.

Conventionally, a fingerprint detector may be provided in the mobileterminal to detect and/or images of fingerprints. In particular, adetection opening may be provided on a screen cover at a positioncorresponding to the fingerprint detector, over which a user may placehis/her finger to contact a detection end of the fingerprint detector,thereby enabling the fingerprint detector to generate fingerprint imagedata based on detection signal. In this way, the mobile terminal may beable to perform a process of fingerprint identification.

SUMMARY

There may be provided a terminal device with fingerprint identificationfunction. Technical solutions may be provided as follows.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device forfingerprint identification may include a screen. The screen may includea screen cover; a display component; a plurality of touch signaldetection elements located between the screen cover and a top surface ofthe display component; a fingerprint detection element located in a freearea among the plurality of touch signal detection elements. Theterminal device may also include a control component electricallyconnected with the fingerprint detection element and, when activated,configured to obtain detection signal from the fingerprint detectionelement. When activated the control component is further configured togenerate target fingerprint data based on the detection signal of thefingerprint detection element, compare the target fingerprint data withpre-stored reference fingerprint data, and execute a preset controlinstruction when the target fingerprint data matches the referencefingerprint data.

It may be to be understood that both the foregoing general descriptionand the following detailed description may be exemplary and explanatoryonly and may be not restrictive of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which may be incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with thepresent disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explainthe principles of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a terminal device according to anexemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 6a and 6b are block diagrams illustrating a terminal deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIGS. 7a and 7b are block diagrams illustrating a terminal deviceaccording to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a device suitable for fingerprintidentification according to an exemplary embodiment.

Reference numbers are described as follows.

-   1. Control component-   2. Screen-   3. Screen cover-   4. Display component-   5. Fingerprint detection element-   6. Touch signal detection element-   7. Fingerprint reader-   8. Processor-   9. Touch controller

Specific embodiments of the present disclosure are shown by the abovedrawings, and more detailed description will be made hereinafter. Thesedrawings and text description are not for limiting the scope of thepresent disclosure concept in any way, but for illustrating the conceptof the present disclosure for those skilled in the art by referring tospecific embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examplesof which may be illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The followingdescription refers to the accompanying drawings in which the samenumbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elementsunless otherwise represented. The implementations set forth in thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments do not represent allimplementations consistent with the present disclosure. Instead, theymay be merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent withaspects related to the present disclosure as recited in the appendedclaims.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a device applicable forfingerprint identification according to an exemplary embodiment. Forexample, the device 800 may be a mobile phone, a computer, a digitalbroadcast terminal, a messaging device, a gaming console, a tabletdevice, a medical device, an exercise equipment, a personal digitalassistant, an aircraft, and the like.

Referring to FIG. 8, the device 800 may include one or more of thefollowing components: a processing component 802, a memory 804, a powercomponent 806, a multimedia component 808, an audio component 810, aninput/output (I/O) interface 812, a sensor component 814, and acommunication component 816.

The processing component 802 typically controls overall operations ofthe device 800, such as the operations associated with display,telephone calls, data communications, camera operations, and recordingoperations. The processing component 802 may include one or moreprocessors 820 to execute instructions to perform all or part of thesteps in the above described methods. Moreover, the processing component802 may include one or more modules which facilitate the interactionbetween the processing component 802 and other components. For instance,the processing component 802 may include a multimedia module tofacilitate the interaction between the multimedia component 808 and theprocessing component 802.

The memory 804 may be configured to store various types of data tosupport the operation of the device 800. Examples of such data includeinstructions for any applications or methods operated on the device 800,contact data, phonebook data, messages, pictures, video, etc. The memory804 may be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memorydevices, or a combination thereof, such as a static random access memory(SRAM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM),an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), a programmableread-only memory (PROM), a read-only memory (ROM), a magnetic memory, aflash memory, a magnetic or optical disk.

The power component 806 provides power to various components of thedevice 800. The power component 806 may include a power managementsystem, one or more power sources, and any other components associatedwith the generation, management, and distribution of power in the device800.

The multimedia component 808 may include a screen providing an outputinterface between the device 800 and the user. In some embodiments, thescreen may include a liquid crystal display (LCD) and a touch panel(TP). If the screen may include the touch panel, the screen may beimplemented as a touch screen to receive input signals from the user.The touch panel may include one or more touch sensors to sense touches,swipes, and gestures on the touch panel. The touch sensors may not onlysense a boundary of a touch or swipe action, but also sense a period oftime and a pressure associated with the touch or swipe action. In someembodiments, the multimedia component 808 may include a front cameraand/or a rear camera. The front camera and the rear camera may receivean external multimedia datum while the device 800 is in an operationmode, such as a photographing mode or a video mode. Each of the frontcamera and the rear camera may be a fixed optical lens system or havefocus and optical zoom capability.

The audio component 810 may be configured to output and/or input audiosignals. For example, the audio component 810 may include a microphone(“MIC”) configured to receive an external audio signal when the device800 is in an operation mode, such as a call mode, a recording mode, anda voice recognition mode. The received audio signal may be furtherstored in the memory 804 or transmitted via the communication component816. In some embodiments, the audio component 810 further may include aspeaker to output audio signals.

The I/O interface 812 provides an interface between the processingcomponent 802 and peripheral interface modules, such as a keyboard, aclick wheel, buttons, and the like. The buttons may include, but are notlimited to, a home button, a volume button, a starting button, and alocking button.

The sensor component 814 may include one or more sensors to support aplurality of status evaluations of the apparatus 800. For example, thesensor component 814 may include a fingerprint recognition sensor, whichlocates under a fingerprint recognition area on the screen of themultimedia component 808. When the mobile terminal detects a user'sfingerprint, the mobile terminal may activate the fingerprintrecognition sensor and display a virtual key for fingerprint recognitionon the fingerprint recognition area. The virtual key may be an icon toidentify the fingerprint recognition area so that the user knows whereto place his/her finger on. When the user touches the virtual key, thefingerprint recognition sensor may collect the fingerprint informationfrom the fingerprint recognition area. Further, the mobile terminal mayalso include a fingerprint recognition integrate circuit, which isconnected to the sensor to receive signals detected thereby.

The sensor component 814 may also include one or more sensors to providestatus assessments of various other aspects of the device 800. Forinstance, the sensor component 814 may detect an open/closed status ofthe device 800, relative positioning of components, e.g., the displayand the keypad, of the device 800, a change in position of the device800 or a component of the device 800, a presence or absence of usercontact with the device 800, an orientation or anacceleration/deceleration of the device 800, and a change in temperatureof the device 800. The sensor component 814 may include a proximitysensor configured to detect the presence of nearby objects without anyphysical contact. The sensor component 814 may also include a lightsensor, such as a CMOS or CCD image sensor, for use in imagingapplications. In some embodiments, the sensor component 814 may alsoinclude an accelerometer sensor, a gyroscope sensor, a magnetic sensor,a pressure sensor, or a temperature sensor.

The communication component 816 may be configured to facilitatecommunication, wired or wirelessly, between the device 800 and otherdevices. The device 800 may access a wireless network based on acommunication standard, such as WiFi, 2G, or 3G, or a combinationthereof. In one exemplary embodiment, the communication component 816receives a broadcast signal or broadcast associated information from anexternal broadcast management system via a broadcast channel. In oneexemplary embodiment, the communication component 816 further mayinclude a near field communication (NFC) module to facilitateshort-range communications. For example, the NFC module may beimplemented based on a radio frequency identification (RFID) technology,an infrared data association (IrDA) technology, an ultra-wideband (UWB)technology, a Bluetooth (BT) technology, and other technologies.

In exemplary embodiments, the device 800 may be implemented with one ormore application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signalprocessors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs),programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays(FPGAs), controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, or otherelectronic components, for performing the above described methods.

In exemplary embodiments, there is also provided a non-transitorycomputer readable storage medium including instructions, such asincluded in the memory 804, executable by the processor 820 in thedevice 800, for performing the above-described methods. For example, thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be a ROM, a RAM, aCD-ROM, a magnetic tape, a floppy disc, an optical data storage device,and the like.

FIG. 1 illustrates a terminal device with fingerprint identificationfunction according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.The terminal device may be part of the device 800 and may include acontrol component 1 and a screen 2. FIG. 2 is a block diagramillustrating the screen 2 according to an exemplary embodiment. Thescreen 2 may include a screen cover 3, a display component 4, afingerprint detection element 5, and a plurality of touch signaldetection elements 6. The display component 4 may be configured todisplay images or videos; the fingerprint detection element 5 may beconfigured to detect fingerprint information when a fingertip touches orslides over the fingerprint detection element 5; the plurality of touchsignal detection elements 6 may be configured to sense a touch of thefingertip on the screen cover 3 and then send a touch signal to thecontrol component 1 so that the control component may activate thefingerprint detection element 5 accordingly.

In an embodiment, the fingerprint detection element 5 and the pluralityof touch signal detection elements 6 may be provided between the screencover 3 and a top surface of the display component 4; the fingerprintdetection element 5 may be provided in a free area among different touchsignal detection elements 6; the control component 1 may be electricallyconnected with the fingerprint detection element 5 and configured toacquire, receive, and/or obtain detection signal of the fingerprintdetection element 5, generate fingerprint data based on the detectionsignal of the fingerprint detection element 5, compare the fingerprintdata with reference fingerprint data stored in advance, and execute apreset control instruction if the fingerprint data matches the referencefingerprint data.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminaldevice may include the control component and the screen, and the screenmay include the screen cover, the display component, the fingerprintdetection element and the plurality of touch signal detection elements.In the embodiment, the fingerprint detection element and the pluralityof touch signal detection elements may be provided between the screencover and the top surface of the display component; the fingerprintdetection element may be provided in the free area among different touchsignal detection elements; the control component may be electricallyconnected with the fingerprint detection element and configured toacquire detection signal of the fingerprint detection element, generatefingerprint data based on the detection signal of the fingerprintdetection element, compare the fingerprint data with the referencefingerprint data stored in advance, and execute the preset controlinstruction if the fingerprint data matches the reference fingerprintdata. Thus, the terminal device may be able to perform the fingerprintidentification based on the detection signal from the fingerprintdetection element sandwiched between the screen cover and the topsurface of the display component without necessity of detection openingprovided on the screen cover, such that strength of the screen cover maybe improved.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a terminal device with fingerprintidentification function may include a control component 1 and a screen2. The screen 2 may include a screen cover 3, a display component 4, afingerprint detection element 5 and a plurality of touch signaldetection elements 6. In the embodiment, the fingerprint detectionelement 5 and the plurality of touch signal detection elements 6 may beprovided between the screen cover 3 and a top surface of the displaycomponent 4; the fingerprint detection element 5 may be provided in afree area among different touch signal detection elements 6; the controlcomponent 1 may be electrically connected with the fingerprint detectionelement 5 and configured to acquire detection signal of the fingerprintdetection element 5, generate fingerprint data based on the detectionsignal of the fingerprint detection element 5, compare the fingerprintdata with reference fingerprint data stored in advance, and execute apreset control instruction if the fingerprint data matches the referencefingerprint data.

In an exemplary embodiment, a terminal device may include the controlcomponent 1 and the screen 2. The screen 2 may include the screen cover3, the display component 4, the fingerprint detection element 5 and theplurality of touch signal detection elements 6. The fingerprintdetection element 5 and the touch signal detection element(s) 6 may bemade of any one or more materials selected from a group including nanosilver, carbon nano tube, and graphene, or may include copper wire.Those materials may be formed into metallic nano wire to be providedbetween the screen cover 3 and the top surface of the display component4. For example, the fingerprint detection element 5 and the touch signaldetection element(s) 6 may be provided directly on the top surface ofthe display component 4. The touch signal detection element(s) 6 may bearranged in a certain manner, while the fingerprint detection element 5may be provided in the free area among different touch signal detectionelement(s) 6. With such design, the screen cover 3 may be formed into aflat structure without any opening, thereby improving strength of thescreen cover 3 and thus prevent the screen cover 3 from being broken incase of dropping off the terminal device.

The control component 1 may be a specially designed hardware module thatis provided inside the terminal device (i.e., beneath the screen 2) andelectrically connected with the fingerprint detection element 5, so asto acquire, receive, and/or obtain the detection signal from thefingerprint detection element 5 and generate the fingerprint data basedon the detection signal from the fingerprint detection element 5.Furthermore, the control component 1 may include a signal filter, anamplifier circuit, an AD (Analog Digital) sample module and the like, soas to perform filtering and amplification of the detection signal fromthe fingerprint detection element 5. The reference fingerprint data maybe stored in the control component 1 in advance and may be obtained bydetermining an average value of a user's fingerprint data throughmultiple detections.

To obtain the pre-stored reference fingerprint data, the terminal devicemay provide on its screen an interface with an option to set a referencefingerprint. When the user selects this option, the terminal device mayreceive a fingerprint setting instruction. Consequently, the controlcomponent 1 may be activated. When the user places his/her finger on thefingerprint detection element 5 (or slide his/her finger through thefingerprint detection element 5), the fingerprint detection element mayacquire, receive, and/or obtain an image of the fingerprint, generatethe fingerprint data and store the data in a non-transitory storagemedium of the terminal device. Multiple detections may be performed forthe user's fingerprint by the terminal device, such that the controlcomponent 1 may determine the average value of the fingerprint data,obtained through multiple detections, as the reference fingerprint data.

The fingerprint image may be an visual image if the fingerprintdetection element 5 is an image sensor. If the fingerprint detectionelement 5 is a capacitance sensor, the fingerprint image may also be adocument corresponding to capacitance. For example, if bulge portions ona surface of a fingertip is referred to as ridges, and recess portionsthereon is referred to as valleys, thus when a user touches the screen 2with his/her fingertip, a distance (a first distance) between a ridgeand the fingerprint detection element 5 may be different from a distance(a second distance) between a valley and the fingerprint detectionelement 5. Accordingly, the fingerprint detection element 5 may be ableto read a capacitance (a first capacitance) between the ridge and thefingerprint detection element 5 and the a capacitance (a secondcapacitance) between the valley and the fingerprint detection element 5.The first capacitance may correspond to the first distance, and thesecond capacitance may correspond to the second distance. As the userslides his/her fingertip on the fingerprint detection element 5, thefingerprint detection element 5 may read and/or obtain capacitancevalues corresponding to each ridge and valley through continuousdetection. Further, since the capacitance values depend on values of thefirst and second distances, the fingerprint detection element 5 maydistinguish the ridge and the valley based on the first and secondcapacitance values. In this way, the control component 1 may receive allof capacitance values detected by the fingerprint detection element 5,and generate the fingerprint data based on the detected capacitancevalues.

After obtaining the fingerprint data, the control component 1 maycompare the fingerprint data generated (i.e., target fingerprint data)with the reference fingerprint data stored in advance, so as todetermine similarity between the target fingerprint data and thereference fingerprint data. A preset instruction may be executed by thecontrol component 1, if the similarity between the target fingerprintdata and the reference fingerprint data falls within a preset similarityrange (e.g., the similarity is greater than a predetermined value).After determining that the similarity between the target fingerprintdata and the reference fingerprint data falls within the presetsimilarity range, the control component 1 may detect a currentlydisplayed interface of the terminal device and execute various controlinstructions based on the currently displayed interface. For example,after determining that the similarity between the target fingerprintdata and the reference fingerprint data falls within the presetsimilarity range, the control component 1 may detect and/or determinethat the currently displayed interface is an unlocking interface, i.e.,an interface waiting for an operation to unlock the terminal device.Since the control component 1 has determined that the similarity of thetarget fingerprint data and the reference fingerprint data falls withinthe present range, the terminal device may perform an unlock process.Similarly, if the control component 1 detects and/or determines that thecurrently displayed interface is payment interface, i.e., an interfacewaiting for an operation to conduct an online payment through theinterface, the terminal device may perform a payment process.

Alternatively, the control component 1 may include a fingerprint reader7 and a processor 8 as shown in FIG. 3. The fingerprint reader 7 may beelectrically connected with the fingerprint detection element 5 andelectrically connected with the processor 8. In an embodiment, thefingerprint reader 7 may be configured to acquire and/or receive thedetection signal of the fingerprint detection element 5 and generate thefingerprint data based on the detection signal of the fingerprintdetection element 5. In an embodiment, the processor 8 may be configuredto compare the fingerprint data with the reference fingerprint datastored in advance, and execute the preset control instruction if thefingerprint data matches the reference fingerprint data.

In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the control component 1 mayinclude the fingerprint reader 7 and the processor 8. The fingerprintreader 7 and the processor 8 may locate inside the terminal device. Thefingerprint reader 7 may be electrically connected with the fingerprintdetection element 5 and electrically connected with the processor 8.Moreover, the fingerprint reader 7 may acquire, obtain, and/or receivethe detection signal from the fingerprint detection element 5, processand convert the detection signal into data identifiable and processibleby the processor 8, that is, generates the fingerprint data, andtransmits the target fingerprint data to the processor 8.

The reference fingerprint data may be stored in the processor 8 inadvance and may be obtained by determining an average value of a user'sfingerprint data through multiple detections. To obtain the pre-storedreference fingerprint data, the terminal device may provide on itsscreen an interface with an option to set a reference fingerprint. Whenthe user selects this option, the terminal device may receive afingerprint setting instruction. Consequently, the fingerprint reader 7may be activated. When the user places his/her finger on the fingerprintdetection element 5 (or slide his/her finger through the fingerprintdetection element 5), the fingerprint detection element 5 may acquire,receive, and/or obtain an image of the fingerprint. The fingerprintreader 7 may receive the image from the fingerprint detection element 5,generate the fingerprint data and transmit the fingerprint data to theprocessor 8. The processor 8 may store the fingerprint data in anon-transitory storage medium of the terminal device. The terminaldevice may require the user to scan and/or slid his/her finger multipletimes to obtain multiple images of the fingerprint. The correspondingfingerprint data of the multiple images may then be transmitted to theprocessor 8 to determine, after receiving the fingerprint data, theaverage value thereof as the reference fingerprint data.

After receiving the fingerprint data (i.e., the target fingerprintdata), the processor 8 may compare the target fingerprint data with thereference fingerprint data stored in advance, so as to determinesimilarity between the target fingerprint data and the referencefingerprint data. A preset instruction may be executed by the processor8, if the similarity between the target fingerprint data and thereference fingerprint data falls within a preset similarity range. Afterdetermining that the similarity between the target fingerprint data andthe reference fingerprint data falls within the preset similarity range,the processor 8 may detect and/or determine a currently displayedinterface of the terminal device and execute various controlinstructions based on the currently displayed interface. Alternatively,the processor 8 may determine a waiting operation and execute theoperation based on the result of similarity comparison. For example,after determining that the similarity between the target fingerprintdata and the reference fingerprint data falls within the presetsimilarity range, the processor 8 may detect and/or determine that thecurrently displayed interface (or the waiting operation) is an unlockinginterface, i.e., an interface waiting for an operation to unlock theterminal device. Since the processor has determined that the similarityof the target fingerprint data and the reference fingerprint data fallswithin the present range, the terminal device may perform an unlockprocess. But if the processor 8 determines that the similarity of thetarget fingerprint does not fall into the preset similarity range (e.g.,the similarity is less or equal to the predetermined value), theprocessor 8 may refuse to perform the unlock process. Similarly, if theprocessor 8 detects and/or determines that the currently displayedinterface is a payment interface, i.e., an interface waiting for anoperation to conduct an online payment through the interface, or thewaiting operation is an online payment operation, the terminal devicemay perform a payment process. However, if the processor 8 determinesthat the similarity of the target fingerprint does not fall into thepreset similarity range (e.g., the similarity is less or equal to thepredetermined value), the processor 8 may refuse to perform the onlinepayment.

In an embodiment, the control component 1 may further include a touchcontroller 9, and the touch controller 9 may be electrically connectedwith respective one of the plurality of touch signal detection elements6 and electrically connected with the processor 8.

In an embodiment, the control component 1 further may include the touchcontroller 9, and the touch controller 9 may be electrically connectedwith one or more of the plurality of touch signal detection elements 6and electrically connected with the processor 8. The touch controller 9may respectively acquire the detection signal from the one or more ofthe touch signal detection elements 6, convert the acquired detectionsignal into touch data identifiable and processible by the processor 8,and transmit the touch data to the processor 8. The processor 8 mayreceive the touch data transmitted from the touch controller 9 andexecute a corresponding control instruction according to the receivedtouch data. For example, the terminal device may have an applicationprogram installed in its non-transitory storage medium and may conductcertain performance to the application if a user touch an icon of theapplication in a predetermined way. For example, the predetermined waymay be either a short touch or a long touch. The short touch mayactivate the application, whereas the long touch may correspond to anapplication deletion operation.

In an embodiment, the fingerprint detection element 5 may be a stripfingerprint detection element 5. When a user conducts fingerprintidentification, he/she may slide a finger within a region correspondingto the fingerprint detection element 5. An angle between slidingdirection of the finger and the strip fingerprint detection element 5should meet a preset condition. For example, the sliding direction maybe required to be perpendicular or substantially perpendicular to thestrip fingerprint detection element 5, or the angle between the slidingdirection and the strip fingerprint detection element 5 may be requiredto be greater than a preset threshold (e.g., 87°), as shown in FIG. 4.

In an embodiment, there may be a plurality of fingerprint detectionelements 5 which may be arranged in parallel with each other.

In an embodiment, there may be one or more fingerprint detectionelements 5. In case of a plurality of fingerprint detection elements 5,they may be arranged in parallel, as shown in FIG. 5. In this way, arelatively large finger area may be detectable, thereby improvingefficiency of detection.

In an embodiment, a transparent film may be provided between the screencover 3 and the display component 4 of the screen 2, and the touchsignal detection elements 6 and the fingerprint detection element 5 maybe provided on the transparent film.

In an embodiment, the transparent film may be provided between thescreen cover 3 and the display component 4 of the screen 2, and thetouch signal detection elements 6 and the fingerprint detection element5 may be provided on the transparent film. Thus if there is any error inassembling the touch signal detection elements 6 and the fingerprintdetection element 5, it will be the transparent film, which is a lowcost material, that is wasted rather than the screen cover which is amore expensive material. Therefore, placing the touch signal detectionelements 6 and the fingerprint detection element 5 on the transparentfilm may efficiently avoid wasting of the screen cover due to assemblyerror of the touch signal detection element 6 and the fingerprintdetection element 5. Resource utilization may therefore be improved.

In an embodiment, the fingerprint detection element 5 may be providedwidthwise in a free area among the plurality of the touch signaldetection elements 6; or, the fingerprint detection element 5 may bealso provided lengthwise in the free area among the plurality of thetouch signal detection elements 6 (i.e., the fingerprint detectionelement 5 is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the widthwisedirection).

In an embodiment, the fingerprint detection element 5 may be arrangedalong different directions in the free area among the plurality of thetouch signal detection elements 6 along different direction. In casethat the fingerprint detection element 5 is of a strip shape, it may bearranged in any suitable way within a free area among the plurality ofthe touch signal detection elements 6. For convenience of a user'ssliding operation for fingerprint identification, the fingerprintdetection element 5 may be provided widthwise in a free area among theplurality of the touch signal detection elements 6; or the fingerprintdetection element 5 may also be provided lengthwise in the free areaamong the plurality of the touch signal detection elements 6; or, thefingerprint detection element 5 may also be provided diagonally in thefree area among the plurality of the touch signal detection elements 6.There may be variety of arrangement manners for the touch signaldetection elements 6, in which two typical ones will be described asfollows.

In a first manner, the touch signal detection elements 6 may be arrangedin dot matrix between the screen cover 3 and the top surface of thedisplay component 4.

In an embodiment, the touch signal detection element 6 may be adot-shaped touch signal detection element 6. For example, the touchsignal detection element 6 may be of a round dot or a square block anddistributed uniformly as a matrix between the screen cover 3 and the topsurface of the display component 4, that is, distributed with fixed rowspacing and fixed column spacing. The fingerprint detection element 5may be provided widthwise in a free area among the touch signaldetection elements 6 arranged in dot matrix (i.e., the fingerprintdetection element 5 is provided along a width direction of the dotmatrix), or may be also provided lengthwise in the free area among thetouch signal detection elements 6 arranged in dot matrix (i.e., thefingerprint detection element 5 is provided along a length direction ofthe dot matrix), as shown in FIGS. 6a and 6 b.

In a second manner, the touch signal detection elements 6 may be of ashape of a strip, and the strip touch signal detection elements 6 may bearranged in a mixture of the widthwise and lengthwise directions betweenthe screen cover 3 and the top surface of the display component 4. i.e.,some touch signal detection elements are arranged along a widthwisedirection and a remainder of the touch signal detection elements arearranged along a lengthwise direction.

In an embodiment, the touch signal detection elements 6 may be of ashape of a strip, and the strip touch signal detection elements 6 may bearranged in a mixture and/or combination of the widthwise and lengthwisedirections between the screen cover 3 and the top surface of the displaycomponent 4. There may be transparent films provided between the screencover 3 and the display component 4 of the screen 2, where the touchsignal detection elements 6 arranged widthwise may be provided on afirst transparent film while those ones arranged lengthwise may beprovided on a second transparent film. Both the first and secondtransparent films may be provided between the screen cover and the topsurface of the display component 4. The fingerprint detection element 5may be provided widthwise in a free area among the touch signaldetection elements 6 arranged widthwise, or may be also providedlengthwise in the free area among the touch signal detection elements 6arranged lengthwise, as shown in FIGS. 7a and 7 b.

In an embodiment, the fingerprint detection element 5 may be provided ina lower half area between the screen cover 3 and the top surface of thedisplay component 4.

In an embodiment, the fingerprint detection element 5 may be provided inany area between the screen cover 3 and the top surface of the displaycomponent 4. For convenience of a user's sliding operation forfingerprint identification, the fingerprint detection element 5 may beprovided in the lower half area between the screen cover 3 and the topsurface of the display component 4. For example, the fingerprintdetection element may be provided in the middle of the lower half area,or may be provided at the right side of the lower half area.

In an embodiment, the control component 1 may be configured to acquire acapacitance value detected by the fingerprint detection element 5 andgenerate the fingerprint data based on the capacitance value detected bythe fingerprint detection element 5.

In an embodiment, bulge portions on a surface of the fingerprint may bereferred to as ridges, while recess portions thereon may be referred toas valleys. When a user touches the screen 2 with a finger, a distance(a first distance) between a ridge and the fingerprint detection element5 may be different from a distance (a second distance) between a valleyand the fingerprint detection element 5. Since capacitance valuesdetected by the fingerprint detection element 5 depend on a distancebetween a detected object and the fingerprint detection element 5,different capacitance values will be derived at the ridge and the valleyby the fingerprint detection element 5 covered by the finger. As theuser's finger slides on the fingerprint detection element 5, thefingerprint detection element 5 may read and/or obtain capacitancevalues through continuous detection. In this way, the control component1 may receive all of capacitance values detected by the fingerprintdetection element 5, and generate the fingerprint data based on thedetected capacitance values. Then, the control component 1 may comparethe generated fingerprint data (i.e., the target fingerprint data) withthe reference fingerprint data stored in advance, so as to determinesimilarity between the target fingerprint data and the referencefingerprint data. A preset instruction will be executed by the controlcomponent 1, if the similarity between the target fingerprint data andthe reference fingerprint data falls within a preset similarity range.After determining that the similarity between the target fingerprintdata and the reference fingerprint data falls within the presetsimilarity range, the control component 1 may detect a currentlydisplayed interface of the terminal device and execute various controlinstructions based on the currently displayed interface.

According to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the terminaldevice, such as the device 800, may include the control component andthe screen, and the screen may include the screen cover, the displaycomponent, the fingerprint detection element and the touch signaldetection elements. In the embodiment, the fingerprint detection elementand the touch signal detection elements may be provided between thescreen cover and the top surface of the display component; thefingerprint detection element may be provided in the free area amongdifferent touch signal detection elements; the control component may beelectrically connected with the fingerprint detection element andconfigured to acquire detection signal from the fingerprint detectionelement, generate fingerprint data based on the detection signal fromthe fingerprint detection element, compare the fingerprint data withprestored reference fingerprint data, and execute a preset controlinstruction if the fingerprint data matches the reference fingerprintdata. Thus, the terminal device may be able to perform the fingerprintidentification based on the detection signal from the fingerprintdetection element sandwiched between the screen cover and the topsurface of the display component without necessity of detection openingprovided on the screen cover, such that strength of the screen cover maybe improved.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the present disclosure disclosed here. This application may beintended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the presentdisclosure following the general principles thereof and including suchdepartures from the present disclosure as come within known or customarypractice in the art. It may be intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the present disclosure being indicated by the following claims.

It will be appreciated that the present disclosure may be not limited tothe exact construction that has been described above and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, and that various modifications and changesmay be made without departing from the scope thereof. It may be intendedthat the scope of the present disclosure only be limited by the appendedclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A terminal device having a fingerprintidentification function, comprising: a screen, comprising: a screencover; a display component; a plurality of touch signal detectionelements positioned between the screen cover and a top surface of thedisplay component; a fingerprint detection element located in a spacerarea between at least two touch signal detection elements from theplurality of touch signal detection elements, wherein the fingerprintdetection element comprises a rectangular strip shape, wherein thefingerprint detection element is configured to: detect a fingerprintinput received over a length of the fingerprint detection elementcomprised in the rectangular strip shape; and generate a detectionsignal corresponding to the detected fingerprint input; and a controlcomponent electrically connected with the fingerprint detection elementand, when activated, configured to obtain the detection signal from thefingerprint detection element.
 2. The terminal device of claim 1,wherein the plurality of touch signal detection elements are deposed ona transparent thin film.
 3. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein whenactivated the control component is further configured to: generatetarget fingerprint data based on the detection signal of the fingerprintdetection element, compare the target fingerprint data with pre-storedreference fingerprint data, and execute a preset control instructionwhen the target fingerprint data matches the reference fingerprint data.4. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein when activated, the pluralityof touch signal detection elements is configured to detect a touch tothe screen cover by a fingertip of a user and send a corresponding touchsignal to the control component; and the control component is configuredto receive the touch signal and activate the fingerprint detectionelement.
 5. The terminal device of claim 3, wherein the controlcomponent comprises: a fingerprint reader electrically connected withthe fingerprint detection element and configured to acquire thedetection signal of the fingerprint detection element, and generate thetarget fingerprint data based on the detection signal of the fingerprintdetection element; and a processor electrically connected with thefingerprint reader and configured to compare the target fingerprint datawith the reference fingerprint data, and execute the preset controlinstruction when the target fingerprint data matches the referencefingerprint data.
 6. The terminal device of claim 5, wherein the controlcomponent further comprises a touch controller electrically connectedwith at least one of the plurality of touch signal detection elementsand electrically connected with the processor.
 7. The terminal device ofclaim 1, wherein the fingerprint detection element comprises a pluralityof elements arranged parallel with each other.
 8. The terminal device ofclaim 1, wherein the fingerprint detection element is arranged widthwisein the spacer area among the plurality of the touch signal detectionelements.
 9. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the fingerprintdetection element is arranged lengthwise in the spacer area among theplurality of the touch signal detection elements.
 10. The terminaldevice of claim 1, wherein the fingerprint detection element is locatedin a lower half area between the screen cover and the top surface of thedisplay component.
 11. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein thefingerprint detection element is made from at least one of nano silver,carbon nano tube, or graphene.
 12. The terminal device of claim 1,wherein when activated, the fingerprint detection element is configuredto detect capacitance values between the fingerprint detection elementand ridges and valleys of a fingertip touching the screen cover; and thecontrol component is configured to obtain the capacitance values andgenerate the target fingerprint data based on the capacitance values.13. The terminal device of claim 1, wherein the fingerprint detectionelement and the plurality of touch signal detection elements aredisposed on a same layer between the screen cover and the displaycomponent.
 14. The terminal device of claim 13, wherein the same layercomprises a transparent film between the screen cover and the displaycomponent.